1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a seal for sealing mating surfaces and in particular a seal which has a channel in one of the mating surfaces with a projection at the bottom thereof and a projection in the other mating surface with a sealing member in the channel which is contacted by the projection at the bottom of the channel and the projection on the other mating surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One prior art technique for forming a seal between two surfaces is to place a gasket between the two surfaces. In this prior art technique, tolerances must be very small in order to form an adequate seal. In addition, the force exerted by the surfaces on the seal must be great in high pressure situations because of the large surface area of the seal.
Another prior art technique for forming a seal between two mating surfaces is to form a groove or channel in one of the surfaces and to place a sealing member in the channel such that the sealing member extends above the top of the channel. The other surface is then brought into contact with the sealing member. This sealing technique is an improvement on the first technique described above, however, it also requires close tolerances. Further, the depth of the channel must be less than the thickness of the sealing member and, therefore, the top of the sealing member is exposed when the mating surfaces are separated thereby subjecting the sealing member to damage. Still further, the width of the channel must be greater than the width of the sealing member in order to allow for distortion and expansion of the sealing member when the surfaces are brought together. However, when the surfaces are separated, the sealing member can easily become dislodged from the channel because of the fact that the width of the channel is greater than the width of the sealing member.
Still another prior art technique for sealing two mating surfaces is to form a groove or channel in one of the surfaces and a projection in the other surface. When the surfaces are mated, the projection is positioned within the channel and is then crushed. This technique forms a good seal and does not require close tolerances, however, it is a destructive type of seal and if the surfaces are separated and then brought back together again, the seal has been destroyed and there is no seal between the two surfaces.